Statewide Iowa — Surveys on college campuses around the country — and in Iowa – indicate anxiety and depression rates among students continue to rise.
The University of Iowa is in the process of hiring three coordinators to guide students to the level of counseling or assistance they may need. Sara Hansen is vice president for student life at the University of Iowa.
Nearly nine out of 10 University of Iowa undergrads who answered a recent survey said they had experienced more stress due to the pandemic. Michael Newton, head of Iowa State University’s public safety department, says staff as well as students are struggling and his officers have undergone training in how to respond to someone experiencing a mental health crisis.
Toyia Younger is senior vice president for student affairs at Iowa State University. She says a relatively new self-help program for ISU students meets them where they are — online.
Helen Haire is director of the University of Northern Iowa’s department of public safety. She says students are sometimes using drugs and alcohol to self-medicate and deal with their stress or mental health issues. During calendar year 2020, there was a little bit of a decrease in alcohol-related arrests on the Cedar Falls campus, but a slight uptick in drug referrals.
Another UNI administrator says fellow students and faculty are often the first to notice a student is in distress — and many of the students who arrive at the campus counseling center for the first time are accompanied by a professor or by another student.
